Tow target cable attachment



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www ,a m @/A W ATTORNEY Patented Sept. 11, 1951 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

Towl TARGET CABLE ATTACHMENT y Richard Aiken, Washington,` D. C. Application Augst 4, 1949, semina- 108,628-

(Cl. 27e- 105m (Granted ander the act et March. s, 1833, as amended April 30, 1928; 370 O. G. '757) 7 Claims.

This invention relates to means for connecting obieets to, and disconnecting objects from cables, lines or the like, andinore particularly to means whereby such operations may readily be performed' at an inaccessible point in a cable.

The present invention isf particularly adapted to use on aerial tow lines as in target practice activities wherein a target sleeve is towed behind an airplane. such use the invention may be employed torelease an oldl target sleeve, to affix a new one to the tow cable, or both. In the specification this invention will be described in such: use, however, it will readily be appreciated that it is applicable to any employment wherein cable severing or object aixing tasks must be performed in normally inaccessible places along a cable length.

In aerial gunnery practice it is customary to tow through the air a cloth sleeve called a target sleeve" and this sleeve is towed a great distance behind the towing airplane, frequently as much as one mile. When a target sleeve becomes so riddled by gunre that it is unusable then it must be discardedand replaced by a new sleeve. This is a tedious and time consuming operation since it is necessary to reel in the: tow cable each time replacement ci the sleeve is necessary and, therefore, there have been proposed various means whereby a new targetmay be secured to a ringA which encircles the cable which ring may be released at the tow plane and permitted to slide along the cable until it reaches the cable end.

Such slides sometimes include cutting means to sever the leader of the used target and separate the target from its slide, however, after severaltargets have thus been released the end of the cable becomes heavy dueto the accumulation of slides. This Vis objectionable. Furthermore, such devices areV likely to jam during flight and make further target exchange impossible.

Frequently, it is desirable to drop a used target without replacing it with a new one. I-n the past, this has required special cable severing devices which are released' from the plane and are designed to cut the tow cable at the target. When 'the cable has been severed the cutting device falls to the ground and is often lost sincel it doesnot become attached either to the used target or to any length of cable-that might serve as a marker.

It is therefore an ob-ject of the present invention to provide a device which can travel along a cable to an obstruction and there aix itself so as to secure a leader or another cable at that point.

An additional object' of the present invention is 2 to provide anattachment of the above character which may readily'v be used on towing cables for the exchange of objects being towed.

`Another object of the invention is to provide a target towing device which may be used to stream a new target when a tow cable has been accidentally severed.

A- further' object of the inventionY is to provide a device for severing a cableata point remote from its secu-red end.

A- sti'll further object oi the invention to provide a device ofthe above type which is safe, cannotpil'e upinlnum-bers at the endl of the tow cable. and is easily recoverable when dropped during aerialtowing operations.

Other objectsY and advantages will become apparent as the following detailed description is read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1. is a side elevation of oney embodiment of the present invention;

Fig.` 2r is a transversey section partly in elevation of they embodiment illustrated in Fig. ltaken on aline substantially corresponding to line 2 2" of Fig, I andi showing the ring hammer in a dotted linechanged: position...

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional View of the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 taken along a line substantially corresponding to line 3-3iof Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a target towing planewith an exchange target on the tow cable, certain. parts being shown relatively enlarged for purposes of illustration.

In the embodiment illustrated in the drawings the device comprises a travelerl l0 having a front plate Ill and a rear plate- I2 held in spaced relation by a plurality of circumferentially disposed rods i3 secured by nuts |42. A yoke or bail l5 having an aperture I6- in which the leader I1' of la target I1, Fig. 42, may be secured, is swingably mounted onl any two diametricallyv opposite spacingrods:v such as rods l3-l3. This may be done anyconvenient manner asV by the provision of outwardly projecting internally threadedY bosses lit--I-S welded or otherwise'secured to the spacers I3"I3'. The bosses may be reduced at their outer ends I8-|\8 and are pivotally supported in-Y suitable apertures in the ends of yoke arms I5-l5. Shoulder screws and washers 29-26 may be used to retain the yoke on they bosses, as shown.

A target tow cable 2l, which may be attached at one` end to a tow plane ina conventional manner, extends through centrally aligned apertures 22 and 23 in spaced plates and l2 respectively, the apertures being reinforced with guide rings 24 and 25, which may be made of any wear resistant material such as Carboloy or the 1ike tegral with the plate 29 although a groove 32A weakens the connection at the junction with the plate whereby the jaws may converge on the cable when they are forced into the tapered bore 21 of the grip cone 26.

Clutch operating pins33, 34, and 35 are secured to the rear face of plate 29. and extend rearwardly through and beyond suitable apertures in the rear plate I2. When the outer ends of these pins strike an object such as a preceding target towing device 36 already secured to the remote end of the tow cable 2| as illustrated in Fig. l, they drive plate 29 forward and jam the jaws 30 into tight engagement with the towvcable. The serrations 3| on the inner faces of the jaws bite slightly into the cable and positively prevent further rearward movement of the traveler. It should be noted that if the cable is severed in any manner such as by gunre thereby releasing the preceding towing device, the attendant threshing around of the free end of the tow cable will unstrand it and cause a snarl 2|' to be formed (Fig. 3). This snarl will serve to stop the traveler and stream a new target.

In addition to means for gripping the cable the traveler is provided with means for severing the cable behind the cable gripping jaws and this means will now be described. On the inner face of the rear plate I2 is mounted -in any convenient Imanner a pistol 31 comprising a cartridge receiving chamber- 38 adapted tore-l ceive a percussion red cartridge 39. A cartridge latch 4U is tenoned in the top of the pistol and suitably grooved to engage the annular ange on the base of a cartridge as illustrated in Fig. 3.

- As will be noted in Fig. 2 the cartridge is red at the appropriate moment by means of a hammer 4| pivotally mounted at 42 to one side of the pistol as shown. The Ahammer is urged toward the base of the cartridge by a spring 43 and is retained in cocked position by engagement of a tip 42a, with an enlarged shoulder 44 on the` contact pin 33; It will be apparent that when the pin 33 contacts any obstruction such as a, towing device, it will move axially-to disengage tip 42al and permit spring 43 to cause the hammer 4| to strike the cartridge 39, as shown in outline in Fig. 2, firing it to propel ak slug 45 having serrated cable cutting edges against the tow cable, which extends through a suitable passageway 48 in the lower portion of the pistol immediately beneath the slug as illustrated in Fig. 3, severing the cable to release the preceding target towing device and its attached target. K l A,

To prevent accidental firing of the pistol 31, a safety pin 46 is interposed in vthe path of movement of the hammer as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. If it is desired` to sever an object from The jaws 30 have y of the tow cable.

the cable at its remote end, the safety pin is removed just before the traveler is launched from the plane. However, if for any reason it should not be desired to sever the cable, as for instance when the traveler is to engage a snarl formed by accidental cutting of the tow line, `the safety pin is left in place.

The operation of the device is as follows:

Prior to take-ofi` a. number of loaded and cocked travelers are strung onto the tow cable and a target is attached by a suitable clamp (not shown) or by another traveler to the end After the plane is in flight and it has become necessary to replace the first target, the leader I1 of a new target I1 is secured to the bail |5 of a traveler, the safety pin 46 is removed, and the traveler I0 and target |1 are launched from the plane as in Fig. 4, to slide along the cable until the contact pins 33, 34, and 35 engage the clamping means for the rst target. The impact causes the jaws 30 to be jammed into the grip cone 26 and the pistol 31 to be red as above-described, thereby releasing the rst target which iloats to earth to be picked up by a ground crew. Later target replacements are Amade in a similar fashion, and the travelers severed from the cable can be easily recovered since each Will be attached to a target sleeve which will serve as a marker.

Should a traveler and its attached target be cut loose by gunfire a new traveler with its safety pin left in place may be released :from the plane to engage the usual snarl as above-described and stream a new target from that point.

When towing operations have been concluded, a traveler without an attachedvr target Amay be launched from the plane to cut the cable at its remote end and release the last target. This permits the cleared tow cable, with this last traveler attached, to be moreeasily reeled into the aircraft.

It is to be understood that though the device specified above is designed for use with aerial tow targets, it may, with slight modification be used in any operation where it is desirable to sever any cable at a point remote from its secured end. Hence, this specication lis merely illustrative of the invention and changes may readily be made by those skilled in the art within the scope of the appended claims.

The invention described herein may be manufactured and used by or for the Government of the United States of America for governmental purposes without the payment-of 4any royalties thereon or therefor.

What is claimed is: v

1. The combination with a cable having an obstruction thereon of avtraveler adapted to slide on the cable and strike the obstruction, means operated by impact of the traveler with the obstruction tosecure the traveler to the cable, and means operated by said impact to sever the cable behind the securing means whereby the obstruction is separated from the cable.V i

2. A cable` severing device comprising a. traveler adapted to slide upon the cable, means for guiding the traveler along said cable, means operated by the impact of the traveler with an obstruction to stop and hold the traveler on the cable at the point of impact, and means operated by the impact of the traveler with the obstruction to sever the cable behind the stopping Iand vholding means but in front of the obstruction. y

3. Acable severing device comprising a, traveler adapted to slide upon a cable, means for guiding the -traveler in its movementV along the' cable,

means operated by impact of the traveler against an obstruction to anchor the traveler to the cable at the point of impact said anchoring means comprising a bushing attached to the traveler and having a tapered bore through which the cable extends, and tapered jaws surrounding the cable and positioned so that they may be jammed into the tapered bore and be caused to grip the cable so as to prevent further movement of the traveler when the traveler impacts the obstruction.

4. A cable severing device comprising a traveler adapted to slide along a cable, means for guiding the traveler in its movement along said cable, means operated by impact of the traveler against an obstruction to anchor the traveler on the cable at the point of impact, and means operated by the impact of the traveler with said obstruction to sever the cable, said severing means including a cartridge receiving chamber disposed adjacent the cable. a ring hammer adjacent the cartridge chamber, and detent means against which the trigger is spring urged when it is in cocked position, said detent means being operable by the impact of the traveler with the obstruction to release the trigger and re the cartridge to sever the cable.

5. A tow target exchange device comprising a traveler adapted to slide upon a tow cable, means for attaching a tow target to the traveler, means for securing the traveler to the tow cable upon impact with a preceding target towing device on the end of the cable, and means for severing the tow cable to free the preceding target towing device with its attached target. said severing means being operated by the impact of the traveler with the preceding target towing device.

6. A device for connecting objects to and disconnecting objects from cables, lines or the like comprising a front plate, a rear plate, means for supporting said plates in spaced relation, each of said plates having a cable receiving opening therethrough, cable gripping means for securing the traveler to the cable, and operating means for actuating the cable gripping means upon contact of the traveler with an obstruction.

'7. A cable severing device which may slide along a cable comprising a traveler frame, means for guiding the frame along the cable, means operated by impact of the traveler against an obstruction to anchor the traveler on the cable, and means operated by said impact to sever the cable beyond the anchoring means said last-named means including a cutter, explosive means for actuating the cutter,` and firing means for firing the explosive upon said impact whereby the cable is severed.

RICHARD AIKEN.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,385,813 Jessen Oct. 2, 1945 2,460,294 Jessen Feb. 1, 1949 2,489,632 Frieder Nov. 29, 1949 2,499,012 Welsh Feb. 28, 1950 

